The idea that Trump’s second term would usher in fascism isn’t just absurd—it’s a slap in the face to the millions who have suffered under actual fascist regimes throughout history. Fascism, by definition, involves the total suppression of opposition, the abolition of free elections, and the merging of state and corporate power into authoritarian control.

Think Benito Mussolini’s Italy or Adolf Hitler’s Germany, where dissent was brutally crushed, political opponents were jailed or executed, and the press was reduced to a government propaganda machine.

In comparison, Trump’s four years in office look like a model of democratic dysfunction, not dictatorship. During his first term, Americans were free to protest, criticize him openly, and vote him out of office. The 2020 election happened as scheduled, and despite the noise about election challenges, Trump left the White House on January 20, 2021. No coup, no military takeover, no indefinite suspension of power—just Trump boarding Marine One and Biden taking the oath of office. The peaceful transition may not have been pretty, but it happened.

If Trump was aiming for fascism, he did a spectacularly poor job.

Real fascism doesn't entertain opposing viewpoints—it eliminates them. Yet, under Trump, media outlets relentlessly attacked him without fear of government retaliation. There were no state-run news channels or purges of journalists. Compare that with Mussolini’s control over Italy’s press or Hitler’s use of propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels to manipulate information. In Trump’s America, CNN, MSNBC, and The New York Times freely published critical stories every day.

That’s not fascism—it’s freedom, even if it makes the media’s portrayal of Trump as a dictator seem laughably detached from reality. //

Fascist regimes historically centralize power by shutting down elections and political opposition. Hitler’s Nazi party outlawed opposition parties, while Mussolini dismantled Italy’s parliament entirely. Trump, by contrast, lost re-election after being dragged through two impeachment trials. His critics and political opponents—including members of his own party—remained vocal and visible throughout his presidency. Far from silencing dissent, Trump was often criticized for being unable to rein in factions within his own administration.

The media’s obsession with labeling Trump a “fascist” is little more than political theater designed to distract voters from the issues that matter. Poll after poll shows that Americans care most about inflation, crime, immigration, and the economy—not recycled narratives about January 6 or imaginary authoritarian takeovers.

Trump, for all his flaws, resonates with voters because he addresses these concerns directly, while his opponents—Biden and Harris—deflect or dodge tough questions.

Ultimately, the “fascist Trump” storyline reveals more about the media than it does about Trump. Americans know the difference between a leader who promises law and order and a dictator who seizes total control. //

writeofcenter
27 minutes ago edited
I’ve studied history my whole life (I’m 4 months short of 70). Especially the study of the quest for State power in the 20th century. The universal response of socialists, Bolsheviks, communists, Marxists to their opponents is to portray them as fascists. It’s automatic. Trumps opponents are basically socialists. Socialism has infiltrated our society and culture to such a degree that they no longer have to hide their political agenda. Everyone else is to the right of them and hence, fascists.

The portrayal of this election as close or neck and neck is a myth. The left will be shocked at (and will willfully deny) how wide Trumps margin of victory proves to be.

Americans love their liberty and freedom and abhor left powered bureaucracy and control. We are fortunate indeed that Americans still prefer to vote to change things. The alternative will be ugly. //

hy dudgeon writeofcenter
7 minutes ago
Any political system which depends on consolidation of power in the hands of elites who then administer/rule from a massively powerful Central Authority is, by definition, a Leftist system.

The claims that Trump was "authoritarian" are based on the fact that he rescinded so many extra-constitutional executive orders implemented by Obama as he exercised his "power of the phone and pen" to bypass Congress and simply declare things to be law. //

Cafeblue32
29 minutes ago edited
Trump is perhaps the most moderate President we've had since Eisenhower. Fascism is not a right wing ideology, it is an economic system whereby government colludes with corporations to do things government cannot do in exchange for preferential treatment and increased profits. COVID was the perfect example of it. Corporations got all kinds of exemptions, breaks, incentives, etc to implement and enforce vax and mask mandates by threatening them with loss of employment. Most of those companies were declared' ''essential businesses" and made record profits, while those who declined to jump on the panic bandwagon were shut down. Lots of them are out of business now.

Hitler was a committed socialist before he was a fascist. He realized socialism wouldn't keep up with war production for his ambitions, so he partnered with German industrialists to produce his materials for profit. In no time at all, Hitler had more new weapons designs come across his desk than anyone could ever build. And most of them were of high quality. It also made Daimler-Benz, Porsche, Will Messerschmitt and a bunch of other industrialists very rich.

That's fascism in a nutshell. It's socialism with a business license. Only now we call it corporatism, as if it were a good thing. //

Tommy
38 minutes ago
Hmmm. Well, for starters, fascists are socialists. Nazis, the real ones, are National Socialists. They demand social and political conformity and use violence to enforce it. They also sooner or later always go after jews because, well, maintaining a unique identity and culture for 3000 years is the opposite of conformity. The bolsheviks went after jews, the national socialists went after jews, the only reason the maoists didn't is because there are any jews in china. And they never wave national flags. They make their own (the nazis used a good luck symbol) and cram it down everyone elses throat with a constant threat of retribution if you don't wave the flag. I see alot of this, but not from trump.

ConservativeInMinnesota Tommy
14 minutes ago
They did have some Jews in China before the Communist revolution. The Maoists took them out.

https://breakingmatzo.com/history-of-jews/harbin-china-the-city-that-jews-built/